wandajune

What information are you including or did you include in your statement of purpose? I'm working on mine currently. I'm applying directly out of my undergrad, so I don't have much in the way of professional experience to talk about. I feel like I've said all I really have to say, yet it's still quite short. Any advice? (Successful applicants who are currently enrolled, I would especially appreciate your feedback!)

Graduating from a small liberal arts school. GPA: 3.96/4.00 in philosophy. GRE scores: 169V/156Q/5W. Strong letters of recommendation, and what I would consider to be an excellent writing sample. (Though obviously we all think our letters and writing samples are excellent, otherwise why apply to such a competitive field?) Primary interests in ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy. Secondary interests in game theory, philosophy of action, free will, metaphysics, etc. Applying to 5 top 20 programs, 5 in the 30-50 range, 1 unranked, and 2 terminal MA programs. It seems so hard to predict where anyone stands a chance at getting in. Honestly, I feel like I'm buying 12 ridiculously expensive lottery tickets.

I assume it would depend on the program. Some programs say that you may submit more than 3, but that if you do all of them may not be read, or read closely, etc. In general I don't think it would be a bad thing to submit 4 good letters if it's allowed, but it may not necessarily help you.

I definitely wouldn't worry about it. Just work on your writing sample and make that as good as possible. Many schools claim not to focus too much on GRE scores anyway, they seem to care more about the writing sample and other aspects of the application. And anyway, that isn't exactly an atrocious score. It's right around the average for those who take the GRE and intend to study philosophy at the graduate level. As long as the rest of your application makes you stand out, I don't see how it could prevent you from getting in.

I would also recommend taking it on the Sept. date and just plan to retake it if your scores aren't as high as you would have hoped. You might surprise yourself and do really well the first time, and if not, you'll have another shot at doing better the second time.

Take a break and relax. Becoming too stressed will only hurt your performance

Kaplan MST 1: 158V/158Q Kaplan MST 2: 158V/154Q Powerprep 1: 166V/152Q Powerprep 2: 164V/154Q Actual Scores: 169V/156Q/5AW

Those should be the official scores. My scores didn't change from the "unofficial" scores received after the test and the official scores I received 10 days later.

It depends on how broad of a vocabulary you have to start with. I memorized Kaplan's 500 words, and got a 169 verbal score... it probably would have been a waste of time to have learned more in my case. My advice is take a practice test before committing to memorizing a ton more words, see how well you do on the verbal, and go from there. Additionally, as exploregre said, context is important. Make sure you can use the word in a sentence, not just regurgitate definitions. It's probably a good idea to pick up some advanced reading material--I've heard people recommend reading the New York Times or The Wallstreet Journal on a regular basis.

I'm hoping to get in to at least a top 50 Ph.D. program in philosophy, though preferably a school in the top 20. Here's what I'm working with: GPA: 3.96/4.00 in philosophy GRE: 169V/156Q/5.0AW I'm from an unknown, small liberal arts college, and I'm concerned that this will hurt my chances of getting into a top program. My letters of rec should be glowing, albeit from fairly unknown names. Assuming my writing sample is very good (obviously this is hard to say), would you think I could stand a chance at getting into the top 20, at least 50?